Iconic Mirage casino in Las Vegas closing, rebranding with guitar-shaped Hard Rock Hotel

The Mirage hotel-casino will close its doors in July after 34 years of operating along the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada.

The famous hotel, which opened in 1989, was the first megaresort to open on the Las Vegas Strip, and its success sparked a building boom in the 1990s for other large resorts, forever transforming the way the tourist hot spot did business. 

The popular resort, instantly recognizable for its Y-shaped design and imagery of The Beatles Cirque du Soleil show "LOVE" advertised across its top floors, will close on July 17, according to the hotel’s owners, Hard Rock International (HRI).

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A major overhaul of the property will then begin, which will include refurbishing the resort and constructing a near 700-foot tall guitar-shaped hotel on the site, similar to Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino near Hollywood, Florida.

The 80-acre resort will be renamed as "Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas" (HRHCLV) with an opening date slated for 2027. 

"We'd like to thank the Las Vegas community and team members for warmly welcoming Hard Rock after enjoying 34 years at The Mirage," Jim Allen, the chairman of Hard Rock International, said in a statement.

Hard Rock International said more than 3,000 employees will be laid off, and it expects to pay out $80 million in severance.

The new resort will employ more than 6,000 people when it reopens, while the renovation work will lead to more than 2,500 construction jobs. 

The Mirage was the world's most expensive resort when developer Steve Wynn opened it for $630 million. It was Wynn’s first major casino on the Strip.

The hotel became the main venue for Siegfried & Roy, who performed there for 14 years, often using white lions and tigers in their acts. Other shows included Cirque du Soleil Nouvelle Expérience. 

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Its volcano fountain erupts nightly and provides free entertainment in front of the resort. It was one of the first sidewalk attractions and predated the Venetian’s canals and the Bellagio’s dancing fountains. 

Guests with room reservations or show tickets beyond July 14 will be automatically canceled and refunded, the company said. Reservations booked through a third-party provider or online travel agency will automatically be canceled, and third-party providers should be contacted directly for rebooking availability or possible refunds, Hard Rock said. 

"LOVE’s" 18-year streak on the Strip will also come to an end. The Beatles-themed show brought Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr back together for several public appearances over the years. 

The Hard Rock Cafe on The Strip remains open for business.

The Mirage became the first Strip property to be run by a Native American tribe in 2022, after Hard Rock International, which is owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, purchased it from MGM Resorts in a cash deal worth nearly $1.1 billion, according to The Associated Press. 

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The closure follows the shuttering of Tropicana Las Vegas in April after 67 years to make way for a $1.5 billion baseball stadium, which will be home to the Oakland Athletics. 

The new Las Vegas ballpark will seat 30,000 fans and is set to open in 2028. 

When the Tropicana opened in 1957, it was the most expensive casino ever built in Las Vegas, costing $15 million, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.